Hospitalizações por COVID-19 no Brasil: características sociodemográficas, fatores de risco e manifestações clínicas

Hospitalizations for COVID-19 in Brazil: sociodemographic characteristics, risk factors and clinical manifestations

Abstract

Objective: To compare the sociodemographic characteristics, risk factors and clinical manifestations of COVID-19 in hospitalized people in Brazil between the years 2020 and 2021. Methods: Cross-sectional study with a sample of 1,150,041 hospitalized people. Statistical analysis was performed using the Mann-Whitney U test and Pearson's Chi-square test. Results: In 2020, hospitalizations were associated with male gender, heart disease, diabetes, kidney disease, cough and fever (p<0.001). In 2021, white skin color, obesity and down syndrome were factors associated with hospitalization, whose symptoms involved dyspnea, O2 saturation <95% and respiratory distress, with a higher proportion of deaths (p<0.001). ICU admission showed no statistically significant difference. Conclusions: Hospitalization due to COVID-19 in Brazil showed a high frequency. In the first year, it reached older people who had previous comorbidities, and in 2021 it was characterized by a marked load of symptoms and greater clinical severity.